HopCat opens in Kalamazoo Saturday

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KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Elton, Tina, Freddy, Prince, and Ray are just a few music legends ready for Saturday’s grand opening of HopCat in Kalamazoo. Paintings of each of the singers, including Bowie and Lennon, hang throughout the restaurant above leather green booths ready to be filled with customers.

“Ah, Saturday! What a great weekend in Kalamazoo,” said General Manager Chris Funaro. “I mean, it’s homecoming weekend. Bell's across the street has an amazing event going on. We’re doing free crack fries all-day long starting at 11 o’clock.”

Crack fries is one of the many specialties on the menu at HopCat Kalamazoo. Funaro said it’s definitely a place for music lovers, burgers lovers and of course beer lovers. They’ve got 100 Michigan-made craft beers, all on tap.

“They are the greatest thing we ever created,” said Funaro. “It’s our version of an amazing fry dish. You literally have to come down and try it. There’s no way that I can articulate just how good they are."

The new location is at an abandoned train depot at 300 E Water St, which is near downtown Kalamazoo. It's been transformed into a trendy restaurant with an outdoor patio and fire pit.

“We’ve been looking at Kalamazoo for quite some time,” said Funaro. “We just couldn’t find the right space and once we came across this building, It fit what it was we were trying to do. And we’re just so excited to be here.”